Changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are now in effect for transfers taking place on or after 1 July 2024.
The new rules relating to TUPE allow businesses to consult directly with employees in certain circumstances (provided no representatives are in place), previously only applicable to micro-businesses, to all transfers involving fewer than 10 employees.
Duty to inform and consult
The purpose of TUPE is to protect employees in situations where the business they are employed by is changing hands or certain services are transferred to a new provider. These regulations impose specific duties on both the transferor (i.e. the seller of the business or the current provider of the services) and the transferee (i.e. the incoming business) to protect employees affected by the change. One of these duties is the obligation to elect employee representatives and to inform and consult with employees via those representatives. A failure to comply with this obligation exposes both the transferor and the transferee to pay compensation equivalent to up to 13 weeks’ uncapped pay per employee.
Micro-businesses exception extended
Previously, businesses with 10 or more employees had to elect employee representatives, while businesses with fewer than 10 employees could inform and consult directly with the affected employees, without having to elect representatives.
However, from 1 July 2024, the duty to consult with representatives will not apply where the transfer takes place on or after 1 July 2024, and where:
businesses have fewer than 50 employees (up from 10); or
businesses of any size are transferring fewer than 10 employees.
However, this exception only applies provided there are no recognised trade unions or elected representatives already in place. It is also important to note that the new rules are only applicable to transfers taking place on or after 1 July 2024. Any transfers that occurred before this date, should have complied with the previous rules.
This long-awaited change is certainly welcomed by many employers, as it allows for a more streamlined process by enabling direct consultation with employees, especially in transfers involving a smaller number of employees.
If you have any questions or queries regarding the latest changes, please get in touch with our team of employment law experts.
Disclaimer: All legal information is correct at the time of publication but please be aware that laws may change over time. This article contains general legal information but should not be relied upon as legal advice. Please seek professional legal advice about your specific situation - contact us; we’d be delighted to help.
We’re pleased to announce the launch of our HR support service, to assist businesses of all sizes with both their day-to-day and strategic HR requirements. As Cheltenham solicitors, we work…
As an employer, what can you do to limit the amount of workplace grievances raised in your organisation? Our employment law team and newly launched HR support consultancy can assist…
This year, 20 November marks Equal Pay Day. Our team of employment law experts look into what it highlights and how businesses can help tackle the issues surrounding the gender…
By clicking Accept you are agreeing to the use of all cookies which will allow us to provide you with the most relevant experience when visiting or re-visiting this website. This means that your personal preferences will be remembered when you use this website. You can change your consent or choose specific settings by clicking "Cookie Settings". By clicking "Reject All" we will not use any non-essential cookies. Essential cookies will still be used for the website to function properly. Please see our cookie policy and privacy notice for more information about how we process your personal data.
Our website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through our website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies but it may affect your browsing experience on our website. You can find our cookie policy here.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function and enable core functionality such as security and accessibility. These cookies do not store any personal information. You can block these cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cf_bm
30 minutes
This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
mgref
1 year
This cookie is set by Eventbrite to deliver content tailored to the end user's interests and improve content creation. It is also used for event-booking purposes.
yt-player-headers-readable
never
The yt-player-headers-readable cookie is used by YouTube to store user preferences related to video playback and interface, enhancing the user's viewing experience.
yt-remote-cast-installed
session
The yt-remote-cast-installed cookie is used to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-fast-check-period
session
The yt-remote-fast-check-period cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences for embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-session-app
session
The yt-remote-session-app cookie is used by YouTube to store user preferences and information about the interface of the embedded YouTube video player.
yt-remote-session-name
session
The yt-remote-session-name cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video.
ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY
never
The cookie ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY is used by YouTube to store the last search result entry that was clicked by the user. This information is used to improve the user experience by providing more relevant search results in the future.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat
1 minute
This cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_s
1 year
This cookie is associated with Shopify's analytics suite.
G
1 year
Cookie used to facilitate the translation into the preferred language of the visitor.
vuid
2 years
Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
6 months
YouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA
6 months
YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's cookie consent state for the current domain.
YSC
session
Youtube sets this cookie to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.